DILLON QUIRKE FOUNDATION JERSEY: Let them wear the jersey, Croke Park!

The Tipperary and Limerick senior hurlers were set to wear new Dillon Quirke Foundation jerseys in their respective county colours for the upcoming Munster championship game however a GAA circular was issued stating that there are other ways of promoting campaigns/charities aside from modifying playing gear.

This new directive from Croke Park means that wearing jerseys to highlight the charity isn’t a possibility unless some compromise can be found.

This is a major setback for the foundation which aims to raise awareness and, through the subsequent sale of the jerseys, to raise much-needed funds for the screening of boys and girls for heart conditions across Ireland. All-Ireland winner and former Clonoulty Rossmore hurler Timmy Hammersley told the Tipperary Star this week that the situation is a delicate one considering the last twelve months:

  “It is an awful pity they aren’t allowed to wear the crest in the match considering he was playing in the same fixture less than twelve months ago. That was May 2022 in the Gaelic Grounds and then in August, that fateful day in Thurles, he passed away.
“It was an emotional journey. I was only home yesterday and I called into the graveyard and it is still an emotional place to go to.

“Time has passed but it is still very raw,” said Timmy who is currently development officer and player at Ballyboden St Endas in Dublin. Former Derry player Joe Brolly raised the issue at the weekend and many others are hoping a solution can be found.
Set up by the Quirke family, over €440,000 has been raised to date by the charity which included a live streamed fundraiser game between Tipp and Kilkenny earlier this year in Thurles. More fundraising events are planned too but the Munster championship exposure on live television would have broadened the reach further.

Clonoulty Rossmore Chairperson Andrew Fryday says that for charities overall, the new GAA directive is a blow: “For all charities nationwide it is a big disappointment. The tragedy we had with Dillon was awful but from it, his mother and father are trying to do good. This charity is just to make sure that what happened to Dillon doesn’t happen to someone again, that’s all,” he said.

In other countries across Europe the Government screen players for SADS but in Ireland that isn’t the case and the hope is that the Dillon Quirke foundation is the catalyst for change in Ireland. Tipperary and Kilkenny wore the Dillon Quirke Foundation jersey in the recent game at the stadium and supporters loved the jersey style, colour and its meaning. Many have enquired about where they can buy the jersey and it is a way to spread the word about the foundation set up to screen boys and girls for SADS and to ensure that what happened to Dillon is prevented in future.

To look at this situation from all sides is important for Dillon’s former teammate, Timmy Hammersley: “I’d be slow to criticise Croke Park totally because I know Tom Ryan (Director General of the GAA) and he’s a very capable and competent individual and I’m sure they have their reasons. I suppose gaining control is probably something that I see them trying to do. When viewing it from Croke Park’s angle I’m sure it makes sense to them but then when you’re looking at it from the angle of the Quirke family and those of us who would have been close to Dillon it does seem like you’d be awfully sad really because of what was planned for the match.

“In 2022, Dillon played the game against Limerick. He isn’t around now and it is a nice gesture both for the family and for the players on both sides.  His name would be on the crest. Obviously the GAA are wondering how they could cater for every cause and every charity going forward but this is a unique scenario. The fact that the same fella that played the match is no longer around and died on the field. So there are many reasons.

“Even if Croke Park is going down a certain road this is a special occasion. I suppose I see it from two angles but I do see it is important for the family and the players,” the Dan Breen Cup winner said.

For Timmy, who won his senior county medal in 2018 with Dillon Quirke at his shoulder, a resolution is essential: “The GAA are probably going down this route of being stricter in terms of games. I suppose the resolution is that if Tom Ryan or those involved in Croke Park, just for this game, see how important it is for the family. It isn’t every year where an individual dies while he’s playing so it is a case of Croke Park seeing how important it is and that they make an allowance based on that.”